Colorado Democrats Launch Free Healthcare Program for Illegal Immigrants – Might Cut Benefits for Citizens
Colorado Democrats are launching a free healthcare program that will benefit illegal immigrants while diverting resources from vulnerable (legal) residents.
From January 1, 2025, Medicaid will provide “free” healthcare to children and expecting mothers under the “Cover All Coloradans” program regardless of their immigration status. The program will cover physical, dental, vision, and mental health care.
Pro-immigration groups and government agencies are reaching out to illegal immigrants, who are hesitant to join, afraid that their information could be forwarded to the government for deportation. “So we have started to hear from the community some concerns about what the implications may be in the future with the new administration that will come in January,” said Denver Health Program Manager Bryan Rodriguez.
“Based on current Colorado state laws they protect the privacy of the clients that are applying for these public benefits,” Rodriguez continued.
Subsequently, Denver Health is offering mobile healthcare to illegal immigrants alongside ReVision’s mobile food distribution.
Citing two Spanish-speaking friends who “immigrated earlier this year via the southern border” from Honduras, CBS reports that illegal immigrants are welcoming the “opportunity to access Medicaid.”
One of the illegal immigrants who is expecting a second child this year is encouraging others to sign up for free healthcare. “Well, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid,” she said in Spanish. “This country has many more opportunities for them,” another illegal immigrant stated. “We don’t want them to suffer what we once went through.”
Rodriguez says they are also overlooking the “public charge” rule that allows officials to deny immigrants certain services if they are likely to become dependent on government aid.
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers opposed to the measure warned that the cost of the program would quadruple after the state began receiving tens of thousands of illegal immigrants, more than previously budgeted for. “We as Coloradans and lawmakers are going to have to deal with how we pay for this,” said GOP Representative Matt Soper. “The cost is going to be fourfold what we anticipated two years ago.”
When first enacted in 2022, the Cover All Coloradans program was expected to cover 3677 people and cost the state $34 million. By 2025, more than 15,000 people will depend on the program, costing the state over $50 million.
Additionally, Colorado grapples with a billion-dollar budget deficit, which will force the state to divert resources from legal citizens paying the taxes to fund benefits for illegals.
According to Soper, low-income legal residents on Medicaid “might see access to healthcare cut,” as the program becomes thinly stretched to cover illegal immigrants. “We shouldn’t be giving programs and services to undocumented immigrants that we aren’t giving to citizens who are within Colorado,” he said.
Colorado is among dozens of Blue states racking up debt by providing free healthcare, food, and accommodation to illegal immigrants while legal citizens struggle to make ends meet.
According to a report submitted during the House Judicial Subcommittee hearing dubbed The Impact of Illegal Immigration on Social Services, illegal immigrants were draining the American taxpayer. “Illegal immigrants are a net fiscal drain, meaning they receive more in government services than they pay in taxes,” wrote Steven Camarota, the Director of Research at the Center for Immigration Studies.
The report warned that while illegal immigrants work, they have poor education and thus earn less, making them qualify for social welfare. “It also means a large share qualify for welfare programs, often receiving benefits on behalf of their U.S.-born
children.”
